The Fairchild Legacy
by FicsOnFridays6
Summary: Clary Fairchild is the daughter of the baker in town. However, her mother is sick and therefore the townsfolk are avoiding her family like the plague and they can't get any business. Her father sets her up for a marriage to a wealthy nobleman named Herondale and Clary is forced into an engagement although she is already in love with the Blacksmith's son, Sebastian. *AU* *Incest*
1. 1-The Baker's Daughter

**Hello. If you clicked on this you'd better be ready for a ride. Nothing will ever end up how I planned it- sadly. I hope you'll enjoy me torturing my characters and the many random twists. Now read.**

**~S**

**I don't own TMI, and obviously there is incest. This is a Clabastian fanfiction.**

**If you're looking for other Clabastian fanfiction then I recommend checking out a fanfic that I just finished, This is the Hunt.**

Chapter 1

"-My daughter's betrothed, Jonathan Christopher Herondale." Valentine announced at the party that they'd decided to host that night, a glass of wine in hand as everybody Clary had thought would reject the idea of such a wedding begin to clap for her arranged marriage- one that she'd given no consent to. Clary felt her corset tighten from her anger as she turned around to glare at her father. Jonathan Herondale, out of all people? She knew that not getting married wasn't an option, but she'd thought that her father would give her the choice of who it would be.

Their business hadn't been going well lately, and Valentine had been talking about the many suitors who'd been asking for her hand. Valentine had promised to reject them all, but Jonathan Herondale offering his hand in marriage? That was an offer that a plain businessman couldn't reject without good reason, and his daughter not wanting to be married to somebody she did not love wasn't a good reason. In fact, it was no reason at all.

There was somebody she did love, but that wasn't the point.

Clary had been excited when her father had announced that they were going to have a party in her honor- she'd thought it would be to celebrate one of the many paintings that she'd offered to sell to keep food on the table, but she clearly realized it wasn't when she saw all of the noblemen begin to walk in. It clearly wasn't just a business party.

But just two hours before this had happened, Clary had tightened her corset, put on an emerald green dress and white gloves and had been hopeful that she would finally be able to start a career that she wanted.

She'd never thought that she was about to be sold off to a man that at the most she tolerated, and at the worst she loathed with every single bone in her body. However, if this was going to benefit her family, then… then she would have to go through with it. Her family was one of the most important things to her, and if this was what it was going to take for their business to get customers back, then she'd marry him… well, she would've married him if it weren't for the fact that she was already engaged. She got up from her seat at the large dining table, smiled at the crowd of people and Jonathan Herondale himself before sitting back down and wiping her sweaty palms down her skirt.

Pretty soon, music started playing again and she had to get up, plastering a smile onto her face once more and listening to the soft notes of a piano get softer and louder, crescendo and decrescendo.

"May I have this dance?" Jonathan held his hand up for her to grab. She could not refuse although another man who'd proposed to her last night was probably watching her every move.

Clary smiled a bit too widely at him before taking his hand and letting him lead her onto the dance floor. She went through the motions and let him spin her around. She had to make Valentine and Jocelyn Fairchild proud. At least for tonight. Clary tried not to show her disgust visibly everytime his hand brushed her waist. When it was time to switch partners, she sighed in relief, getting ready to sit back down.

"Come with me." A voice whispered, angry but a voice of somebody she knew and loved.

The next thing she knew, she was behind a wall, all other people from the party still dancing. Clary looked up from the ground. "Sebastian." She breathed, anxious to tell him what had just happened.

"What the hell was that? When did you agree to get married to Jace Herondale?" Sebastian's pitch black eyes seemed to get darker, although how that was possible Clary did not know. "Was it before I proposed? Why-" His hands went to his head and he looked back at the crowd, making sure once again that they were unnoticed.

"No. Never. I would never do something like that, Sebastian. You know it." Clary said, leaning against the wall.

"Why is this happening? If your father would've accepted my proposal-

"We can't." Clary sighed. "If it were a couple of months ago, back when everything was going great, then maybe, but… Sebastian, your father was a blacksmith. My father is a baker hoping that with his daughter's looks he can get a nobleman's son to propose… and it happened. I'm sorry, Sebastian. You know that with the measles outbreak in town and mother catching it, nobody comes to the bakery anymore." She looked up at him, not realizing the tears streaming down her eyes. "I wish that my father would've said yes to you."

Sebastian wiped her tears away gently, his hands calloused from the hours spent helping his father make tools, his clothes dirty and his hair messy. "You could've rejected it."

"You know that I can't, Sebastian. We're about to lose the house. The bakery. Everything. We'd be as poor as a blacksmith." Clary's eyes widened, about to take back the statement she'd just made. "Wait, I meant-

"I know very well what you mean, Clary." Sebastian's eyes were sad, and looking into them was like looking into a sea of sorrow. "I'm sorry I wasn't born something else.

"No, I should've said something else." Clary said. "But you know I said yes. I would leave my family for this… if Jonathan hadn't offered to marry me. If I had another sibling who'd be willing to get married." She shook her head. "It would be too cruel of me to just leave."

"But Clary." Sebastian looked back at the crowd of noblemen and women, and the middle class people who could afford to be there, such as Clary… a luxury that Sebastian couldn't afford. "What about _me? _What about all of the promises that we made?"

Clary closed her eyes as if it was too painful to face reality. "I know, I know." A hand went to the ring tied onto a necklace hidden behind the laces of her dress, a necklace over her heart; a promise. "But I can't leave my family. I can't leave my mother."

Sebastian's face went from angry and cold to sadness and understanding. "I get it. Do I leave you alone from now on or do I…?"

"I don't know. I don't know…" Clary said. "How am I supposed to marry somebody I don't love?"

"You have to love him, Clary. Because I don't think I can afford to stick around once you're married to him… once you start having little Herondale babies. Once your name isn't Clary Fairchild anymore. Once you're a noblewoman too expensive to talk to someone like me-

Clary sighed, her face darkening. She looked down. "So this is our fate."

"Look, I'll stick with you until the wedding date is set in stone, alright?" Sebastian smiled softly. "Your family will be thrilled, and you'll have more money than you could ever imagine. All you have to do is forget about me."

Clary looked up and the boy she loved was gone, along with the childhood innocence that let her fall in love with this boy in the first place. "I can't forget about you." She whispered, hoping that the message would somehow carry on with the wind.

They'd first started seeing each other one day he came to the bakery. He was a regular customer, coming after helping his father. In fact, he'd been coming since they were both little kids, except she was the one with lace and silk in her clothes, and he would come in with rags. She was always fed, and he was lucky if he'd get any food at all. She'd sneak him a loaf of bread or two, sometimes cookies, maybe a slice of cake if she was lucky. This had become routine over the years, and on that day, she'd managed to smuggle him some fudge.

She moved away from the counter, making sure there were no other customers in sight before gently handing him what might be the only source of food that day. "Don't catch a cold." She'd nodded at the snow falling outside.

He'd smirked softly, a hand in his pocket. "You're so hot that I wouldn't be able to." He whispered, not knowing that she'd heard.

Clary's face had gone bright red, and she brushed her hair back, wondering if she'd even bothered to brush it in the morning. This was not the first time Sebastian Morgenstern had charmed her, but this time, she wasn't going to hold back. "Are you done with work this afternoon?" She'd said quite loudly.

"I-" Sebastian turned around. "I am done for the day."

Clary walked over to the door and flipped over the _open _sign that she'd painted herself so that it said _closed. _His father was busy out in town looking for a doctor that would help her mother's illness. "Why don't you stay here until the snow stops? The bakery is warm because of the oven." She didn't mention the fact that a blacksmith had to work with fire, and it would be warm enough over there as well.

Sebastian said nothing about that either, and joined her behind the counter. She'd laughed at his jokes before, not taking them seriously, but now? She was beginning to realize that she was falling for the blacksmith boy. The issue?

Her father wasn't going to let their family statues fall even further.

She brushed that aside and showed Sebastian how to make cookies instead.

Clary had never felt more alone in her life. The man who had just proposed to her the night before was now telling her that she needed to fall in love with a man she loathed but was getting married to. Sebastian, the boy who had held her tightly in his arms and held out a ring the night before… Clary didn't want or need to cry in front of the many people that were watching her.

Jonathan Herondale wouldn't be her first choice if she had to marry a nobleman. In fact, it would be her last choice- but it wasn't her choice to begin with.

The truth and the reality of the situation was- Clary was betrothed to a man she barely knew but hated the slightest things she knew about, and the man who had proposed to her wanted her to fall for him because that was the best thing for her right now.

Oh, what she would give to have been born the daughter of a maid so that it would've been alright for her to run off with Sebastian.

Clary wanted to throw all of the presents from what had gone from a dinner party into an engagement party right into the garbage and burn it all to an ash. She wished she could go back to the night before and just stop time.

But there was no stop button, rewind button or a way to change fate.

**I hope you guys enjoy my take on this era and this fanfic. I don't know everything about Victorian time, though, so I may have gotten some things wrong and I apologize if I did.**

**I also didn't edit this chapter… oops. But I need to stay on schedule so… **

**Follow, favorite, review! I'll see you next Friday.**

**~S**


	2. 2-Plague

**Hello… I've been busy lately because of national novel writing month coming up(I'm going to try and write a 50,000 word manuscript in a month haha… it probably won't happen but it's nice to try to set a goal), but I'm so glad that I was able to write this chapter. This story is definitely going to be one of my favorites ever. Thanks to everybody who favorited or followed, because motivation came to me in like… a snap. That was a first.**

**Okay, so the reason I have Clabastian as the ship in the title is so I don't attract any Clace shippers that can't handle Clabastian, but this will be a bit of a Jace/Clary/Sebastian fic, but the main ship is still Clabastian. However, I will have a bit of Clary/Jace AND Jace/Sebastian mixed in to make the plot work :)**

**If you don't like that, then please don't read it… or just don't leave hateful commentary.**

**~S**

Clary's mother often cried out at night, seeing things that nobody else should be able to see. They weren't so sure that it was the measles anymore, but either way, they had no money to afford a doctor anymore so it did not matter. Their family was now desperate for money… and now they had a solution. Clary thought about her betrothed as she nursed her mother with wet cloths and her attempt at soup- although her mother often shoved her away, afraid that Clary would get her illness as well. Tomorrow morning would be her first formal meeting with Jonathan Herondale, and after her talk with Sebastian, she was determined to get Mr. Herondale on her good side.

She just wasn't too keen on the name Clarissa Herondale. She also felt horrible about seeing Sebastian when she had a betrothed, but Sebastian kept to his word when he said he'd stay until the wedding date was set in stone. Maybe he was expecting her to find a way to stop the wedding.

She couldn't stop the wedding, not if she wanted her father to hate her, her mother to die, or the bakery to go bankrupt. She tried to picture a future with Jonathan, tried to picture herself living a life like that, being a perfect obedient wife… she shuddered. Although Jonathan Herondale was like a dream come true, the best possible thing to happen to her in months- she didn't want to marry him.

Her mother stirred, shaking violently. "Get out! Get out!"

Clary started to cry when she saw her mother screaming and crying for her to leave- she could not leave even if she wanted to, because otherwise there would be nobody to care for her mother. "Mother, you have to calm down. It's not good for your health."

Her mother had always been ill, but not as ill as she was now. It seemed that the measles had made her illness of the mind worse. Although nobody in the public knew, Jocelyn Fairchild was a victim of seeing things that often didn't exist. However, it didn't affect her all that much and she was still able to do things like be a capable mother.

When she was struck with the measles a month ago, the bakery lost business due to those who didn't have the plague not wanting it, and Valentine had no choice but to start selling their own items and begging for suitors with large sums of money to come offer themselves to his one daughter- the only way to save their family. The bakery was Clary's dowry, and any noblemen would want to make a bit of extra money by investing in it. If they could just get a rich man to propose to her, then Jocelyn would get the proper treatment necessary for her illness.

If Clary hadn't been seeing Sebastian for almost two years now, she would have accepted the proposal in a heartbeat. It was a miracle that she'd even gotten an offer from a nobleman… her father would've accepted anybody at this point- her status in this world was lower middle class, nothing less… nothing more.

Until now, that is. What would she be doing after she got married? She let herself imagine a life full of luxuries that she would never be able to dream of. Silk and velvet dresses in all sorts of bright colors, rings and jewels all over her neck, meat and food actually made fresh by servants… everything that an 18 year old baker's daughter could ever want in a marriage and future. Her children would live a happy, luxurious, and safe life inside the safety of Mr. Herondale's mansion, with all the toys and play-things that they could ever dream of.

She should be happy. She should feel lucky that her groom-to-be was only 20, not 50 years old like her friend Isabelle's groom was. Isabelle had been shipped off to France with a husband who was of the same status as her. Simon, who had been dating her… well, he was forced into an arranged marriage as well. To be frank, there was absolutely nothing wrong with Jonathan Herondale, except for the fact that he was in no way shape or form Sebastian Morgenstern.

Perhaps she could change her mind. She had to, after all. It would be better for the both of them. Clary wanted to cry just thinking about the conversation that she had with Sebastian last night when he snuck into her window.

His hands were warm and comforting as they embraced her before he let go suddenly, as if remembering that none of this would last. She'd started to speak to him, trying to make him hold her again in a way that nobody else could. "_Maybe I can convince father-_

"_Look, Clary. I was awfully rude last night. I have no place to tell you what you should do with your life, and I understand that you have to get married, so why would you try and convince your father to let you marry a man who can barely afford to keep food on the table?" _Sebastian had said.

"_But-_

"_Do you think any father would let his daughter marry down, especially when his wife is sick, and he has an offer for marriage from a nobleman? Are you crazy?" _Sebastian shook his head. "_I know I told you I would stay until the marriage date is figured out, and I'll stick to that, but please… try to be happy with Jonathan. He has everything I wish I could offer."_

"_You don't need to offer anything. All I want is you."_

"_But is that enough?"_

Clary knew deep in her heart that Sebastian was right. Her father wouldn't let her marry down… the bakery was everything that her father had, and she couldn't let him give it up. She couldn't make him go through what a peasant did, not even if she wanted to get up and marry Sebastian. It would be too cruel.

Besides, it wasn't like she needed to love Jonathan. She just had to be a wife- poised, kind, and able to be a mother. That was all that a marriage consisted of. There wasn't usually love in a marriage, although there was a sense of family. Still, she'd hoped that she'd be able to get married to a person that she loved… however, her father didn't have as much faith in her painting skills than she'd thought, and she'd ended up in the situation she was in. Therefore, she would learn to feel a sense of family with Jonathan. She had to. Besides, she'd been learning how to do this for all of her life how to manage a house, care for children, sew… but that wasn't what she wanted to do with her life. She'd wanted to manage her own business, like her mother and father. Part of the reason that she'd fallen for Sebastian was because he liked her for the way she was, although his views of women were very traditional. He liked that she painted and could manage the bakery.

The question that Clary had was whether or not Jonathan would believe in her the way that Sebastian had. After all- a man was allowed to do whatever he wanted to a woman, for she was his property. That was a disgusting rule. Jonathan Herondale would have to be a good person. He had to. That would be the only way she would be able to possibly even consider the thought of being happy in the marriage.

She would be able to live inside a special section of the castle, but would she want that if she was just a play thing for a man she did not love? However, she would be home by herself quite often, as she'd heard that Jonathan frequently went hunting. Maybe if Jonathan was kind, he would let her paint.

She'd been able to avoid getting married for most of her teenage life- it was inevitable. However, it was at the worst time possible.

She glanced back at her mother and paled in shock.

No wonder her mother had been so sick. If this was just the measles, there would be no way that she'd be so weak. There would be no way that she'd be coughing up blood. There was no way that…

Clary took a deep breath. She was probably wrong. She did not just see what she thought she did. It couldn't be the bubonic plague. The black death was not supposed to have spread here. Everybody with the plague was quarantined. She lifted the blanket covering her mother's feet and almost screamed when she saw the blackness of her feet.

_Black death. _No wonder her mother was trying so hard to get her away. Hell, Clary might get the plague. Clary stepped back quickly, although that wouldn't do much if she was infected. However, she hadn't gotten it in the past month, so all was fine. Her mother's toes were black, a sign that gangrenes had caused her mother's skin to go black. Clary wanted to cry. She had to marry Jonathan Herondale. It was set in stone… she had to if she wanted to save her mother from the plague. She had to.

But how was Jocelyn not dead? Most of the people died in less than a week… Clary shook her head, almost laughing. Her mother had always been stubborn. No, she would not die. Not yet.

The plague was supposed to have disappeared when her mother was a child. How could her mother be getting it now? Clary trembled as she walked downstairs to her father's study, getting ready to tell him the news that would make him push the wedding date closer.

_No. _She would tell him in the morning, to make the transition easier. To finally take it in that she wasn't a free woman. How did her mother say the doctors used to treat victims of the plague…?

They would bathe their patients in rose water and pop the bubbles on their skin… Clary wasn't so sure if she wanted to do any sort of surgical operation on her mother. Clary picked a rose from a vase that was conveniently in her mother's room and poured the water into a bathtub, making sure some of the petals went into the water as well. She wasn't sure if any of this would help, but… she had to make some sort of effort, didn't she? So she carefully pulled gloves on her hands, and made sure her skin wasn't exposed before gently lifting her mother up and placing her into the bathtub.

Jocelyn's face was a mixture of fear and pain. She was burning up with fever, and the pain from the blackness in her dead toes was almost too much for her to handle. Clary knew that even if the bath didn't help her plague, it would help with the fever. She lightly scrubbed her mother's body and watched in horror as dead flakes of skin fell to the bottom of the bathtub. Thank god this was her mother's bath and not her's. "Clary. I'm sorry." Jocelyn's face was full of sorrow. Although it wasn't certain what she was apologizing for, Clary believed that it was her mother's way of apologizing for what she'd done to her daughter's future.

Clary felt tears start to blur her vision but bit her lip to stop herself. Meeting Jonathan would be nothing compared to what she was doing right now, she thought as she continued to wash her mother's dying skin. The doctor would come if she convinced Jonathan to pay for it… and she would. She'd have to. For her sake, her mother's, and even Sebastian's.

Jocelyn was back in the safety of her bed, and Clary was crying yet again, this time in her father's arms. It was the next morning, yet Clary had barely slept. "Father, I'll do it. I'll marry Jonathan and I'm sorry I ever protested." Her mother's condition was not any better than the day before, and it seemed to have just hit Clary that there was no longer any hope.

"You don't have to." Her father's words had hit her, hard.

"What do you mean?" Clary asked, thinking of how hard her father had tried for months to get her to pursue a suitor, and how much harder it got when her mother got sick with what they'd thought was the measles, because neither of them had seen Black Death before and it was thought to be gone. "We can get Mr. Herondale to call the doctor."

"It might be too late for your mother, Clary. I'm getting old, too. You can run this business just fine… and once your mother is gone, the business will come back." Valentine said.

"Father, how could you say that?!" Clary exclaimed, holding back the urge to hit her father across the face. "Mother has stayed alive for weeks, and you want to give up just as we got an offer from a nobleman?"

"But Clary, your dreams-" **(A/N: Am I actually making Valentine a decent father? Maybe…)**

"If you'd thought of my dreams, you would've said it before you announced my betrothal in front of all of the townsfolk." Clary said softly. "And I can't let mother die before we even get a doctor here."

"Clary." Valentine said, "Fine. Get married. Have children. Just don't forget that I once offered you this, because that offer is gone."

Clary wanted to scream, wanted to shout. How was any of this fair? Why did she say no? She could've gotten the future that she'd wanted with Sebastian, and yet…she'd chosen to get married after all. No, that wasn't it. It was for her mother. Her lovely mother. Her beautiful, kind mother. **(A/N: not used to that after my other fic haha) **She couldn't let her mother just _die_.

But if she'd accepted the offer from her father, would she be happy? Yes, she would've. But she would also feel guilty for not trying to save her mother. Saving her mother was worth the misery she would feel with Jonathan Herondale. However, she still didn't know what kind of person he was…

She would find out in less than 30 minutes.

She ran up the stairs, not satisfied with what she just did but not entirely unsatisfied, either. Her mother's life was important. In fact, it was the most important thing.

She shook her head and pulled on the mask of an anxious bride-to-be. She removed her nightgown and pulled on a corset, tightening it as hard as she could. Clary opened her closet and stared at her dresses. Ever since the bakery started to lose customers, they hadn't been able to patch up tears or buy new dresses. She had to make a good impression on Jonathan. Clary pulled out a different green dress than the night before- one of the only nice dresses she owned, because her mother had traded several layer cakes for it and had given the seamstress free desserts for almost a month. It was a dress made for a noblewoman- a kind of dress she wouldn't have to pay for once she got married.

The fond memories of her mother that came with the dress made her mask disappear for a second until she remembered her duty. The dress was a dark green, like an evergreen tree, with slightly lighter shades of green forming almost unnoticeable leaf-like patterns in random places of the dress. The dress was so _soft_, since it was made of silk… and then there was an outer layer that was gold and the ribbons of it tied in the front to make her look more elegant. She opened up her box of jewelry and pulled out a pendant that Sebastian had made for her with pieces of gold that he'd traded a javelin for. The golden flecks of the necklace shined in the mirror and Clary sighed. Why was her fate going to be like this? She took out an old comb and smoothed her hair back, looking at herself in her mirror once more. She had no makeup that the noblewomen had, but this was the best she could do.

She heard a knock at the door and her father answer it, knowing that it was Jonathan. She ran down the stairs and was forgot how to breathe when she saw him.

He was _gorgeous. _

**Another chapter done :) **

**I hope you enjoyed it… **

**These are links I used for historical information Incase anybody is curious: **

** watch?v=m5q-PIN3KSE**

** /middleages/feud_ **

** a-to-z-guides/plague-faq**

**Clary's dress: **** pin/199002877258679194/**

**Please follow, favorite, review!**

**~S**


	3. 3-The Herondale Ring

**Hey guys, I'm taking a break in between NaNoWriMo for this haha. Don't worry, I won't leave this fanfic while I'm writing the novel, since the novel is purely for fun and not for publishing. Anyways, I left the last chapter on a cliffhanger, so I hope you guys enjoy what happens next.**

**~S**

He was _gorgeous. _He looked like the sort of prince you would read about in a children's fairytale book- blonde with blue eyes mixed with flecks of gold in them, muscular, dreamy looking… he really did look like a nobleman, but he looked more like a prince. Clary tried not to shake her head but mentally slapped herself for staring at him. This was no Sebastian, of course- Sebastian was all fair, white-ish hair and black eyes, while Johnathan was tan and had blue eyes that any man would envy.

Clary finally understood why Sebastian had been so worried- Clary had been so angry on the night her engagement had been announced that she'd hardly looked her betrothed in the eyes. But now that she was finally seeing him, _really _seeing him, she was that didn't mean that she was sold on the idea of marriage. Clary suddenly regretted taking off the necklace with the ring Sebastian had given her- or… well, Sebastian had taken it back.

Clary hid behind her hair. Jonathan had caught her staring at him, and had started to smile a bit. "I'm sorry we didn't get off on a good start last week, Miss Clarissa. I sincerely apologize if I did anything to offend you. But I promise that if you can't find any pleasing qualities in me, I am willing to withdraw."

_Yes, please do. _Clary almost said, but held her tongue. This was for her mother. She could not go against this, especially not after her conversation with her father. "No, of course not. I apologize as well, I was too angry with my father to present myself in the right way, and I was afraid that you had been left with a bad impression."

Johnathan's eyes brightened. "This is our first formal introduction, and I hope that this will make you feel confident in me as your fiancé." Clary tried not to flinch when she heard the word _fiancé_.

"Yes, thank you." Was all Clary could say, suddenly feeling like a little girl playing dress-up in the clothes she was wearing.

"Tell me about yourself." Johnathan said, "You are lovely." Clary couldn't help but blush a little. Clary noticed that his eyes looked brighter, and more confident than when they'd first met at the dinner party. Perhaps it was because she was more willing? No- she was still as much in love with Sebastian as she had been on that night, but this time, the stakes were higher. She had to save her mother, who was dying upstairs. But why did her betrothed have to be so handsome and princelike?

"I…" What could she say? Should she list the traits that she knew a housewife would need, like cooking, sewing, or something like that? Or should she be brave, and speak the truth? "I like to draw." She said before she could change her mind. "I love the nature, and drawing the leaves falling down from trees in autumn or the sad trees during the winter- I'm boring you, aren't I? I'm sorry." She looked down. Surely, she had ruined it.

Johnathan looked surprised, yet intrigued. "No, not at all. I thought that it was quite interesting. So it's true when they say you really aren't like anybody else?" He looked down at her fingers, which were covered in paint. Clary felt blood rush to her cheeks when she saw- why hadn't she covered it up? "May I see them?"

"What?" Clary asked, backing away. Her hands? Was he going to choose this moment to be perverted?

"Your drawings." Johnathan replied.

"Oh." Clary managed to say, stumbling to get her notebook from the desk to her left. She opened it and pulled out a drawing- one of the bakery, of her mother baking cookies, a smile on her face. How long had it been since her mother had smiled like that? Johnathan gently took it from her hands and studied it. Clary graced herself for the negative comments, for him to tell her that she isn't very good-

"This is wonderful." He looked at Clary, who was staring at him wide-eyed. Clary felt a smile creep up to her face, to her shock. Johnathan had just done what neither Valentine nor Jocelyn had never done for her- give her a compliment. "Have you ever been to the lake by the castle?" Clary shook her head. "You said you like drawing nature, right? You should draw that. I'll take you there sometime." Clary hid behind her hair again, the idea of being alone with Johntahan by a lake was certainly terrifying- and exciting at the same time. What was happening to her? How had she grown to like this man in such a short period of time?

Johnathan looked at the picture again. "Would you mind if I held onto this?" Clary shook her head.

"I want to know more about you." Clary blurted out suddenly, regretting the words once they came out of her mouth.

"What?"

Women were not supposed to speak unless spoken to. She hid behind her hair. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean-

"It's okay." Johnathan said, "What do you want to know?"

Clary hadn't expected this. She'd been expecting a cocky, spoiled rich-brat that she would loathe being around, not a gentle blue-eyed boy that wanted to go to the lake with her and complimented her art.

Still, a part of her heart screamed for Sebastian.

She shook it away, knowing that she had to let go. If she couldn't have Sebastian, then maybe Johnathan was an okay choice. Maybe more than okay. "Your hobbies… your life… anything." Clary said, real curiously creeping into her tone.

"No other woman I've tried to court has asked me about my interests." Jace laughed. "It took me by surprise, that's all. They all talk about themselves and try to impress me with their 'cooking skills.' You, by far- are the only woman that's actually got a talent." Jace took a deep breath. "I also sensed your reluctance to be married, and I just want to say that I don't mind if you don't want to be married, after all, that's just a formality. I just want to be friends and have somebody to talk to, while filling my father's requests for me to have a family. However, if you want no romance in this relationship, the marriage will be just a formality. Nothing more. However, I'd be willing to… really be your _husband, _if that's what you want."

Clary felt a sense of warmth surge through her heart. Jace wasn't going to force himself on her- and he was willing to just marry her for the formality, for a companion, not because he wanted a little play thing. He also recognized her talent, and… this was too good to be true.

But Sebastian wouldn't want a relationship with a married woman, would he? Clary's shoulders slumped slightly. Sebastian told her to love this man… "I'm willing to try…" Clary said, thinking of what Sebastian would want. He wanted her to live a life without worries, with the riches that came with marrying Johnathan…

"Okay." Came Johnathan's response. Clary couldn't forget that Valentine was in the room next door, but from the sound of it, he wasn't listening in on their conversation.

"But i'm glad that you're not forcing me to do anything. So thank you." Clary smiled.

Johnathan started to dig into his pocket, searching for something. "My father is forcing me to give this to you, but I think it will suit you, so I'm thankful that he gave it to me." After a moment of searching, Clary saw a silver ring in his hands, and he laid it out on his palm. "It's up to you whether or not you want to wear it, but… it's my family ring." Clary's eyes were wide in awe. Each of the noble families and the king's family had their own family ring… Clary remembered seeing one on her friend's finger when she'd gotten married a year ago. It was a Blackthorn, that one.

This ring had a heron carved into it in three different places, and one last space where there was a big _H_ carved in, signifying the family name. _Herondale. _The rings were usually exchanged when noblemen and noblewomen were to be married, but Clary had no family ring, at least to her knowledge. Clary looked at it, a bit scared, but slowly put her hand out and carefully took the ring from Johnathan's palm. She let it glide onto her ring finger and looked at the silver against the pale skin of her hand. It was a perfect size.

"My mother used to wear it." Johnathan said. Clary remembered reading in her textbooks that Celine Montclaire was a Frenchwoman, and that the marriage between Stephen Herondale and Celine had created an alliance between the two countries. Clary was about to wear the same ring that Stephen Herondale had held while proposing to Celine, and the ring Celine had worn, all the way up until… well, now.

"Can I really have this?" Clary said quietly in disbelief. "I don't feel like I deserve it."

"It's just a formality. Would you rather not wear it, Miss Clarissa?"

_Miss Clarissa. _Clary felt like a clown when she was called that. "Can you not call me Clarissa? Or… Miss? I prefer Clary."

Johnathan looked at her for a moment and then nodded. "I forgot to mention that I prefer Jace. JC. Johnathan Christopher?"

Clary nodded. "Forget the formalities. We're going to be living together for life, right?" She tried not to put a bitter tone in there.

"Yeah."

Clary hadn't expected Sebastian to show up at her window so soon, but he did.

He saw the Herondale ring on her finger, and he sighed, as if his heart was breaking. Clary couldn't handle it either.

**I hope you like the Clace. Don't worry, Clabastian is the main ship. But, I hope that Clace can take some part in this fic. :) lemme know what you would like to seeeeee.**

**Review, follow, favorite. :)**

**~S**


	4. 4-of Broken Hearts and Promises

**Hello everyone. I noticed that last chapter, although I think it might be because I updated so late at night, you guys might not have seen it, so if this doesn't feel right to you/in the right place, go back a chapter. Last time Clary had her first private introduction with Jace… if that doesn't seem familiar, please go back a chapter, otherwise nothing will make sense!**

**Thank you :)**

**~S**

Clary opened the window to her room for Sebastian; she could almost feel her heart pounding as she looked at Sebastian for any sign of the boy who had proposed to her a mere week ago.

That boy was gone. Replacing that boy was a man covered in dust from the forge he'd been working at from dawn to dusk. Clary's hand went to her neck where the ring he'd given her was usually kept, but then remembered that she'd put it away because her dress would reveal it to Jace. _Jace, _Clary thought in shock. Since when had she referred to her betrothed as _Jace? _Had it not always been either _Mr. Herondale _or _Jonathan? _What had changed?

Sebastian looked carefully at her hand and flinched back from her touch in a sudden burst which left an ache in her heart. A brief flash of hurt struck across his face but vanished almost as soon as it had appeared. Clary lowered her hand quickly, yanking off the Herondale ring and tossing it the floor.

"You're wearing his ring even after he left?" Clary saw him attempt for a smile but fail. "That's good."

_But Sebastian- _Clary wanted to say, _My heart, soul, and body still all belong to you. _"I forgot to take it off."

"Clary." Sebastian said, "Has the wedding date been decided?"

Clary froze as she remembered the conversation that Jace had with her father when they thought she couldn't hear. _Next week. _Clary couldn't open her mouth, couldn't speak even if that was what was right for Sebastian. Because telling the truth meant losing Sebastian. _Forever. _It meant getting married to Jace… becoming a Herondale. _Clarissa Herondale, _She tried in her mind, but those thoughts strayed and formed into _Clary Morgenstern, _which sounded so right. She thought of her mother to keep the thoughts at bay. "No. It hasn't." She said firmly.

"Clary…" Sebastian whispered, his hands moving towards her but then stopped as if he was afraid of touching her. "Is it alright… if I am selfish for once?" Clary nodded, looking at him with all the trust in the world. Sebastian's voice sounded so fragile, so _scared. _

His hands moving slowly at first, moving to her face and holding her, pulling her closer. She felt herself loosen into his embrace, his lips melting into hers, their bodies fitting together perfectly. But they couldn't go any farther, could they? Not if she was engaged.

"I want to be selfish for once. I want…" Sebastian breathed, his hair glowing in the moonlight emitting from the window, his eyes darker than the night sky. "Clary, I-

"Please." Clary said softly, thinking that this might be the last time she'd be touched by him, the last time that she would feel him against her this way. "I need this."

**(Author's note: As this is rated T, I'm not going to get graphic. Obviously.)**

Sebastian's eyes widened as if he was expecting her to say no. His hands moving from her neck down to her back, where his hands stopped at the laces and strings that covered her corset. Clary guided his hands to her chest where all of the laces came together and gently moved his hands in the right places until the corset came undone.

"As long as the stars shine, I will love you." Sebastian said quietly before Clary shut him up with a kiss.

That night might be a blur in the future, but at that moment… Clary could not have felt more blissful and happy.

When she woke up, Sebastian was gone. All that was left from the night before was her undone corset and a note. She hadn't even spoken with him about Jace… but that was for the better.

Clary pulled her corset back on and took in the sound of the birds and the scent of spring. Just the day before, she'd felt hopeful, happy. However, after last night with Sebastian, she wasn't so sure she would be alright. Her hand moved to her bedside table, where the Herondale ring was.

Jace hadn't said they had to be involved romantically, and this was all a formality, right? Although she'd told him that she was open to it… he wouldn't force it upon her. However, there was no way that Sebastian would get involved with a nobleman's wife. This ring had belonged to Celine Monteclaire, there was no way Clary would not wear a ring that her hero had worn. She slipped it on, trying to think of it as Celine's and not a show of her engagement. She also took the necklace with the handmade ring and put it on her neck. This was the ring that reminded her that Sebastian still loved her.

However, that wasn't the only reminder- the way Sebastian had held her, kissed her, touched her… although he was speaking of being selfish, Clary thought no such thing. She was nobody's thing, and if she wanted him to touch her, then by all means, he could.

Perhaps she was the one being selfish. She moved to the room next door in clothes that were plain and ragged compared to what she had worn the day before. She opened the door and was reminded why she was going through this.

Her mother was covered in swelling bumps of black, occasionally crying out. Clary knew that if her mother was to have any hope… then that meant she must charm Jace enough to get him to help her. A son in law would help his mother in law.

"Mother…" Clary said, moving closer, double-checking her gloved arms to make sure no skin was showing. "You'll be okay. Just another week."

"I know," Jocelyn croaked, "I know about Sebastian Morgenstern."

Shivers ran through Clary's body and she felt her whole body jump in surprise. "What do you mean, mother? He's the boy I let hang out in the bakery out of pity." She was surprised at how harsh she sounded, but that was what was necessary. If any outside sources were to hear, then the engagement would be off.

"How could you?' Jocelyn's voice was full of pain. "Promising me that you'll get help from a nobleman when you're in a relationship with a blacksmith…" She coughed, blood rising up onto the sheets.

Clary looked at her, understanding fully what her mistakes were. She had to save her mother. That was the priority. How had she lost sight of that? How had she lost sight of her main goal? "I did promise, mother."

"Do you think that Mr. Herondale wants to marry a woman who's been in bed with another man?" Jocelyn said, "I see your face, dear. Don't think that even in my state that I couldn't hear your racket, or see Sebastian Morgenstern in the hou-" She coughed violently. "I thought it was Herondale at first, but then I saw him. What if Jace finds o-"

Clary heard every point of it, and her mouth hung wide open. "I'll stop it. I'll get married, I promise."

"At first I… didn't care… you… promised…" Jocelyn said weakly, "And it gave me hope."

Clary understood fully. Her mistakes were what had led her to this. She'd have to break Sebastian's heart, take Jace's heart, and save her mother.

In the process, she would lose who she truly was.

**Yay. My poor baby. :( **

**I hope you're glad I updated early, even if it's short. See you next Friday.**

**~S**


	5. 5-The Lost Carstairs

**Hi :) **

**Thank you guys so much for the reviews last chapter! Also, I know that this is depressing- but I hope that it's still worth the read, and… this chapter is going to be more lighthearted and HAPPY. **

**I know some of my og readers are gonna be like: um, sis- you can't write cheerful things without making something terrible happen afterwards!**

**Lemme try. But then again… ;)**

**Just kidding. I will try. I hope you enjoy this.**

**~S**

Clary walked through the streets of Idris, her plain dress hitting right below her knees… and the Herondale ring still decorating her left hand. She tried her best to forget that the ring was Jace's and instead pictured it as Céline Monteclaire's, and felt joy rush into her- she still remembered all of the nights she had spent as a little girl reading the books on the alliance between the Herondales and Monteclaires, wishing for a romance like that. Céline had been her hero… and now she might even get a chance to meet her.

Clary had decided to ignore the bad for just one day. For just one day, she was going to live her life the way she wanted to, before she had to worry about the engagement and Sebastian all over again. She would have one more day of childhood innocence and fun before she had to take her place as a noblewoman.

So here she was- Curling red hair falling down her shoulders, the smell of spring filling the air as she smelled fresh baked bread coming from their bakery, and heard the echoes of laughter come from the market as she headed inside. She had a hand-woven basket in hand, and a shopping list in the other as she made her way down the street in some old brown boots. She had a beige dress on, one that she had worn for years- and a corset that seemed almost too tight on her, as they hadn't been able to shop for anything such as clothing for a while, and she'd grown quite a bit. The corset, although very tight, did show off her figure, although it wasn't like she had much to show off to begin with.

She walked into the market and saw a couple of little girls laughing as they ran past each other, little baskets in their hands. Clary remembered a time when she used to run through the market with Isabelle, at least she did before Izzy was married off. The market hadn't changed for her whole life- it was full of farmers and businessmen, all trying to sell their jewels or their food.

"Apples! Get your apples over here!"

"Beautiful jewelry!"

Clary smiled, looking up at the sun, which seemed to be smiling back at her. She would not let anything bother her today.

She walked right up to the old woman who'd sold eggs, milk, cream, and butter for the past… who knew how long? But this woman had everything a baker's family needed. Clary had grown up coming to the market as a chore for her parents, bargaining with her for the best price she could offer. "Hello, Clarissa." The old woman looked up from sorting her produce.

The woman had wrinkles all over her face, but it didn't make her any less beautiful, or well, you could tell that she was beautiful once. Her gray hair fell in straight, untangled waves that Clary had been envious of since she could remember, and her plain blue dress was made of lovely fabric. Clary smiled back at the woman, who beamed. "Hello, Mrs. Pangborn." Clary responded. Mrs. Pangborn had a daughter and a granddaughter- Tatiana and Grace, who'd moved out years ago when they'd been offered to work in the palace for the king. Even though she'd been cast out by the rest of her family, Mrs. Pangborn remained the sweetest old woman Clary knew.

"How have you been doing? You've been absent so long, and I hear about your mother…" Mrs. Pangborn said softly, looking at her with pity. _If only you knew what I've done to my mother, my family, Sebastian. _Clary shook the thought away as they came.

"We've managed," Clary said. "How much do you need for a little bit of everything?" _A little bit of everything- _When Clary had first come when she was five years old and forgotten to bring her shopping list, she'd said those words. She still said them to this day.

"20 pounds, maybe…" Mrs. Pangborn said, but upon seeing Clary's face changed her mind. "15 pounds, and do you have anything baked on you?"

Clary poured the coins into her hand and handed her the wrapped crepe cake she had been planning to have later, but that was the price to pay to run a dying business. "Thank you, thank you." She took Clary's basket and placed several eggs, some butter, cheese, and milk into her it. Happiness rushed into her when she saw the quality of the food.

"No. Thank _you_ for coming here for so many years… thirteen years." Mrs Pangborn smiled. "I think you've earned the right to call me Barbara…"

"Why so suddenly?"

"I've heard of your engagement, and assumed that this might be your last trip here." Barbara said.

"No, it won't be." Clary said firmly, trying believing it herself. "I'll still be running the bakery."

"Then I'll see you soon." Barbara responded, "I wish you all the happiness in the world."

"Thank you," Clary's smile was bright and true, lighting up the surrounding area, taking the slightly heavier basket from Barbara's grip. "Barbara." She turned and walked away through the market for the fruits and chocolate she'd have to pay a much higher price for, as they were higher in demand.

At the fruit stand, she saw a young girl with blonde hair, a dagger in her hand. Clary felt a jolt run through her when she realized that this girl was about to steal from the shop owner. _The poor girl_, she realized, _why is she stealing?_ She took a step forward before she was stopped by a girl around her age with black hair. **(A/N: we're gonna get some book parallels here, folks.)**

"What are you doing?" The girl demanded.

"That little girl," Clary said softly. "What is she doing? Where are her parents?"

"Emma, god help her- she doesn't even have a scrap of family left. The plague is coming back… it's terrible." The girl looked at her ring. "You must not know what that's like."

"I know," Clary said firmly, thinking of her mother. "I know exactly what it's like."

"I suppose." The girl said, before calling out to Emma. "Emma, please come here, I can help-

"Leave me alone, Aline!" She shouted back.

Aline gave Clary a look before running into the crowd of the market. Clary wondered what Aline was to Emma. Clary walked up to Emma, who was clutching a sword to her chest, her hands shaking as she hid behind the stall. "What? What do you want?" Emma demanded.

"Nothing," Clary said. "I want to talk to you."

"Do you want to arrest me? Take me to the palace to be one of your maids?"

Clary thought with a jolt, _This little girl thinks I'm a noble disguised in the market. _She pushed the ring off and into the basket. "I know what it's like," she said, "To be in the market, taking what little money you have to get something, thinking about stealing."

"My mom and dad told me that they'd be back." Emma said firmly, looking at her sword. Clary looked closer at Emma and realized that this poor girl… she was a _noble. _Her clothes were of high quality velvet, noble quality. She was just a child, but the moment her parents past away, people cast her out. "But they didn't come back. Their bodies were found on the beach."

Clary looked at the sword she was clutching. "Your sword is beautiful." It was etched with a pattern of leaves and across the blade were carved words: _I am Cortana, of the same steel and temper as Joyeuse and Durendal. _"It's a famous sword. It belongs to the Carstairs family."

_The famous musician_, Clary thought, _James Carstairs. _

"If I'd gone with my parents-

"If you had, you'd be dead as well." Clary replied.

"How would you know?" Emma demanded. "How do you know that they're dead?"

"I can see that you're strong." Clary said, "If you're this strong, then your parents must have been too. Even though you couldn't save them, you must persevere. For them."

Emma nodded slowly, and Clary handed her some coins and took her hand. "Do you know anybody in the palace who'd be willing to take you in?"

"The Blackthorns." Emma said quietly, "My best friend, Julian- he told me not to wait out here for my parents because they're dead."

"Why don't I take you to the Blackthorns… and we can work this out, okay?" Clary said, not knowing how she was even going to get close to the castle like this, with a dirty child in rags and she herself not looking any better.

Emma nodded, finally seeming to understand. "You know, I suggest you get better clothing if you're going to be Jonathan Herondale's wife." She said suddenly.

"Really?"

Emma nodded, all too serious.

Clary laughed. "I'll take that into account."

Clary had no choice but to call on Jace in this situation. She knew that Jace had mentioned that he hung around the library most days, and prayed that he'd be there. Clary had taken Emma home first, knowing that Valentine was out looking for other jobs to pay taxes, and her mother didn't have the strength to disturb them.

"Do you know someone here?" Emma asked.

"No, this is my home." Clary said, brushing her hair back as she opened the door with her keys and double-checked that the sign said _closed. _At this point, she was the only person running the bakery.

Emma's eyes widened. "_This_?"

"Yes, this." Clary said softly. This was the only home she had ever known. Clary took the things she'd bought in the market and put it into the several different cabinets in the kitchen. She made sure that the apple pie she'd been baking wasn't burnt and pulled out cookies she'd baked earlier in the morning and offered them to Emma, who took them all.

She watched Emma devour the cookies and smiled, pointing to the curtains. "There's a bathtub in there- it's not the best, but it'll clean you up. I'll try and find some clothes that will fit you."

Emma skipped over to the curtains and vanished. She seemed to be doing much better then she had been in the marketplace… and hopefully she would have a better life than Clary could possibly offer in the bakery. Clary cut up the apple pie and put them behind the glass. She would open the bakery later. Emma was the priority.

Clary managed to dig up one of her old dresses, although plain, they weren't as terrible quality as they were now- her father had bought this dress when the bakery was doing well. It was made of cotton and was a light shade of purple. She laid that out along with some small boots. She set it outside the curtains and saw a hand take them.

As she waited for Emma, she frosted the layer cake that had been ordered by a client that was due to be delivered at night. The buttercream frosting smelled delicious- the perfect mixture of cream, butter, and sugar.

Emma walked out in Clary's old clothes, looking much more like the noble she was. Her blonde hair was shiny now, and her skin wasn't covered in the dirt and mess that it had been an hour ago.

Clary looked up and nodded towards the door. The library was just across the street, and with her luck, Jace would be there. "You look gorgeous." Clary said.

"Thank you." Emma said suddenly, "For letting me eat and giving me clothes."

"Thank _you_ for brightening _my_ day, Emma Carstairs." Clary responded reassuringly. Emma strapped the knife onto her side- it was very obvious that it meant a lot to her. "We're going to find Jace."

"Jace?" Emma questioned.

"Herondale. Jonathan Herondale." Clary replied fondly.

Jace spent a part of every single day in the library at the institute, researching topics as broad as fairy tales to gardening, spending as much time as he could _away _from his duties to the king. He could get lost in the world of a book, whether it be fantasy or just plain instructions for cooking.

He brushed his hair back, smiling as he pulled another book from the shelf, wondering if he'd ever get to the point where he would finish every book in the library. _Dante's Inferno, _it said. It had belonged to his grandfather, apparently- the last page read: _With hope at last, Will Herondale._

He flipped open the book and began to read.

It wasn't long before Jace heard a child squeal and raised his head, knowing that it wasn't often for anybody, let alone children, to be in the library at this time of day. He looked up and saw… Clary. His eyes widened as he saw her walk over to him carefully, the girl's hand in hers.

He got up, saying, "What's happening? Why are you here? Are you alright? Who's this girl?" He suddenly felt self conscious- he wasn't in his usual gear and fine clothing… he was in a white shirt and brown pants, plain and simple. He felt underdressed.

"This is-this is Emma Carstairs," Clary said. Jace realized with a jolt who this child was. She was the child of the couple that had contracted a mutation in the plague but left their child so she wouldn't catch it, too. Had nobody taken her in? "I found her in the marketplace, covered in dirt and rags and I… I helped her, and I was hoping… you could help us get to the Blackthorns?"

"Why wouldn't I want to help?" Jace responded, "I want to help, and I'm glad you came to me." He closed the book and set it aside, glancing towards Emma. "You're so brave, surviving alone for so long." Emma blushed and hid behind Clary.

Jace led them towards the back entrance, where he had a carriage waiting. Jace nodded at the horseman, "To the Blackthorn Mansion." He lifted Emma up onto one of the seats, and then held his hand out to Clary. "Come on."

Clary looked up at him in surprise, as if she hadn't expected him to let her inside the carriage. "You don't have to, I can just leave-

"No, come in." Jace let her take his hand and sit down in one of the seats. Jace jumped up and took his place beside the two, who were whispering to each other.

The ride to the Blackthorn Mansion wasn't very long, but long enough that it would take a while to get there by foot- which was why Clary was grateful for the carriage. She hadn't expected Jace to take Emma to the Blackthorns, much less let her set foot inside a carriage. She looked inside with wonder, thinking of how different her life would've been if she'd grown up being transported everywhere in vehicles like this. The seats were covered in red velvet, and the black outside was glossy and beautiful, smooth to the touch. She looked out the window at the countryside, the grass was green and lovely- not a sight she usually saw in the city, where she lived.

"Is this your first time inside a carriage?" Emma asked in surprise.

"How did you know?" Clary turned to face her.

"You just seem… shocked by everything that we're doing." She replied quietly, humming to herself and kicking back and forth in the seat, which Jace didn't seem to mind.

Jace had his eyes closed and had fallen a sleep quite a while ago- however, they were nearing the Mansion and they hit a hill-

Jace's eyes shot open and he rubbed them. "Are we here?"

"Yes, sir." One of the workers opened the door and Jace jumped out before helping them both down again onto the soft grass in front of the Blackthorn Mansion.

Clary took in the sight of the Blackthorn Mansion- it looked like a palace all by itself, although the real castle was probably several times bigger. It was a light shade of gray, and the Blackthorn family crest was decorated in the very front of it- black thorns. There was laughter coming from nearby.

"Emma?!" A voice cried out, a young boy's voice. The boy came running, colliding into Emma's arms. "I thought you died, Emma! I thought you died!" The boy had lovely black hair, the same shade as the thorns of the crest.

"Julian!" Emma cried, sobbing into his arms, "I'm so sorry." Cortana was strapped onto her belt, and her hands brushed over it for a second.

"We've been looking for you, and Mark told me to stop but I never wanted to stop." Julian said, looking up for a moment and jumping back when he saw Jace and Clary. "Jonathan Herondale?"

Jace nodded, shaking the young boy's hand. "Where your father? Or your brothers and sisters?"

"Livvy, Ty, Dru, and Tavvy are playing outside. Mark and Helen are watching them." Julian responded, his beautiful clothing covered in dirt, likely from playing outside. Clary wondered what it was like to grow up as a noble child- they didn't have to work at a young age, or go to the marketplace at five years old- they got toys, land, and parents who were there for them most of the time. She was angry at herself for being selfish and not wanting this sort of future for her children, if she ever had any.

"Julian!" A rang out, and a boy ran out from the field, seeming to be just younger than Clary. He was blonde, but had the same eyes as Julian's piercing blue eyes. "Julian, what are you- Emma?!"

Emma burst into tears when she saw the older boy. "Mark…"

That was when Clary knew that this was Emma's family, and they would take care of her. "Julian," Clary said, looking at the little boy. "I need you to take care of Emma, okay?" Julian nodded fiercely. "Protect her."

Emma started to turn and walk away with the two Blackthorn boys before turning around and colliding into Clary's dress, and Clary could feel Emma's tears. "Thank you, Miss Clary."

Clary knew that Emma would be a great warrior eventually, and with a little bit of luck, Julian and the Blackthorns would make a great family for her, and Emma would learn to heal. Clary knew that if there was any noble that she wanted to see again, it was Emma. "I hope I'll see you again."

Emma smiled for the first time, a genuine smile. "You will."

Clary smiled back. This had been a fantastic day- she hadn't worried about anything, and… she was beginning to see the bright side, the good, the happiness in the life of a noble.

**I wrote… a lot. Wow….. :) **

**I hope you guys liked the happy chapter! There will be another happy chapter next time :) before it gets dark again, that is…**

**~S**

**Review, Follow, Favorite! **

**(If you do, the chapters will be longer)**


	6. 6-The Room and The Lake

**Hello. I'm sorry for not updating for the past 2 weeks, but as it was Thanksgiving week and I had many tests the week after, I had barely any time to write, sorry :(**

**But no worries, I'm back and I'm ready to write :)**

**I'm sorry if any of you guys were expecting a chapter but didn't see one :(**

**Thanks for the love about the last chapter, I'm so glad so many of you enjoyed it. **

**This chapter is not edited, however I'm very proud of it.**

**~S**

The day was not yet over, and Clary still did have one thing she wanted to do- she'd sworn that this was the last day that she wouldn't think about the problems in her life, and that sort of day and wish would not be fulfilled until…

Until she saw Sebastian. Jace had dropped her off back at the bakery with reluctance to leave her alone with the sun setting and no sign of her father. Clary had sworn that her father would be home soon(which he would be), but in the meantime, she needed to see Sebastian.

Clary splashed water onto her face, looking at herself in the mirror. She remembered Julian and Emma, running to each other, and smiled when she thought of seeing them once more. Clary shrugged off her dress and pulled on something more simple now that she was going to see Sebastian. He couldn't see her a noblewoman's clothing, not today.

As the velvety clothing fell off, so did the baker's daughter hiding behind the noblewoman-to-be. Clary slipped off the Herondale ring, and tied her hair into a bun. It wasn't quite safe for a lady to walk down the street at night- that's why she shrugged on her father's coat and hat as a first layer of defense in the case that anybody tried to hurt her in any sort of way. She took a slice of chocolate cake from the tabletop, walked outside and disappeared into the night.

The alley was cold, and dark, the only light was from the moonlight shining down upon her. She felt vulnerable in the cold night air, surrounded by nothing but darkness; all the laughter from earlier in the morning replaced by the wails of the sick, hungry, and homeless that were hidden in the shadows.

As Clary got closer to the blacksmith's workshop, she started to hear the banging of metal against a hammer and the hiss of a fire. It was most likely Sebastian banging away late at night, making weapons and tools for people. She smiled when she got to the door, her pale hand bright against the brown color of the door.

She swung it open with ease, and her smile got even wider when she saw Sebastian welding what looked to be a sword, which he drew out from the fire. It came out bright red and hot, Sebastian carefully set it down on a table before turning around.

When he saw her, his eyes lit up for a moment, before looking down in shame. "Hello, Miss. What do you need today?" He asked, a weird type of formality in his voice that Clary found absolutely unnecessary.

Clary went bright red. "Sebastian, it's quite alright."

"But-But what I did to you. It's a sin." He said quietly, looking back at his workshop nervously as if somebody else lived there, or somebody old hear their conversation. "I touched you in places I shouldn't unless we're married…" Sebastian had begun to grow flustered.

Clary reached upwards towards his face and lay one hand flat against his cheek, and on his heart. She felt his heartbeat quicken. "I don't _care, _Sebastian. I love you." _I needed to say it one last time, _She thought in her head, but shook it away.

Sebastian's eyes were clearer, as if seeing what she felt. "You're here for another reason, aren't you?" His voice was eerie. His eyes seemed more black than ever, the same shade as the night. "You're not here just to visit."

Clary shook her head, thinking about what she had promised for herself and what that would mean for them both. "The wedding is next week. Mr Herondale has agreed to move the wedding up to save my mother." She spoke firmly, knowing that it didn't matter how she spoke, because the words would be the same anyways.

"Clary," Sebastian's voice was tight with pain. "Then why are you here? Why do you always come back when it hurts both of us?" He looked at his scarred hands. "Why do you want me?"

Clary found herself unable to speak, the words that she'd wanted to say disappearing. How could she tell this boy that she'd come to tell him that she wanted to end it so that there would be no more pain, when he was looking up at her with such hope? But what hope was left for them, really? Clary bit her tongue, searching for words to say. "Is- Is there any way that you would be willing to stay with me?" Clary asked quietly and desperately.

Sebastian flinched. "Is this seriously all you came to say? I told you that if you're getting married, I'm not going to become somebody clinging onto a married woman. Especially if she's a noble, and especially if she's married to one of the most powerful men in the land. I'm not going to stick around when you have children, and I'm certainly not going to stick around if-if he's going to be touching you too." He gulped, then took in a deep breath. "And if that's selfish of me, then call me selfish."

_You're not the selfish one, _Clary thought, self-loathing filling her thoughts. _I'm the selfish one. _She was the one who wanted to be with him despite the fact that she was being married in the next week. Despite the fact that he was a low class blacksmith. Despite the fact that she was marrying her fiance because it was the only way to save her mother. Despite everything, she wanted to be with him, and that was the most selfish thing of all. She stared at the man she'd fallen in love with, hope draining out of her eyes. "Please?" Was all she could say, feeling the shame rise up to her cheeks, growing red.

"Although I want you, I'm not giving up my dignity. Not for you." The hope and love had faded from what Clary could see, and his gaze was cold. It was as if he was looking at a stranger; as if he was looking at somebody he could no longer recognize.

"Sebastian?" Clary asked, fear rising up into her voice, watching as Sebastian turned away from her. Her fingernails dug into her skin, the pain not even able to cover the amount of shame and utter heartbreak that she was feeling. "Sebastian, please look at me." Her voice grew pleading, "_Please._"

"Who are you?" Came his response.

Clary felt anger well up inside of her as her fingers balled into fists and she whipped around, reaching a hand into her basket and pulling out the cake she had baked with love. She threw it at his back, utter fury and rage taking over every bit, every atom in her body. She couldn't say anything, or she would regret it all. She couldn't say it, not when he was being like this. She turned and ran, kicking past the door and running through the streets, tears streaming down her face. She ran past the market, past the library, past hills and past everything she knew.

One of her feet hit a rock as she was running down a hill, and her legs fell along with the rest of her. She wanted to run away, run away from everything she'd ever known. She shoved past branches and bushes, feeling them cut into her skin, feeling the blood pour down her legs. She was falling, falling down the hill and down to a field of flowers, down a stone pathway, down-

Then there was a splashing noise, and she could feel water all around her, covering her body. She could feel her clothes weighing her down, the cuts on her legs screaming in pain from the contact with the water. She could feel her ponytail come undone.

Hands lifted her out of the water, lifting her out. She could feel the water fall down from her skin in droplets, and could feel the cold air hit her harshly in the air like a slap to the face. Somebody's strong arms were around her, setting her down on what seemed to be grass. Her legs were on fire. Clary forced herself to open her eyes, and could immediately tell that the wind had no sympathy.

It was Jace. Why he was hanging around a lake in the middle of the night, she had no idea. He was looking right at her, his eyes wide open in concern. He brushed her hair back placed a jacket around her shoulders as she sat up. "J-jace?" Her teeth chattered. "W-what are y-you d-doing here?"

"This is my property," Jace replied, looking at her dubiously. "I should be asking you that question." His golden hair glowed in the moonlight and had been thrown around with no mercy in the wind. "I saw you running, and ran out to see what in the hell you were doing here, only to find that you'd fallen into the lake."

Clary had no words. How had she been running from one man, only to find herself on another one's property? She couldn't believe how utterly unlucky she was. And yet, he had saved her life, hadn't he? Her mouth opened and closed. "This is your house?" She spoke, still dazed. Taking a closer look at the house, she let out a gasp. There were parts of the roof that looked to be pure gold, and the house itself looked like a small castle, the Herondale Crest imprinted on what seemed to be the back door. She couldn't see very well into the inside, but she could tell that there seemed to be some sort of stain-glass art somewhere. The fields around the house were enormous, and wherever Clary looked, she couldn't see where her home was, let alone the rest of town. The lake was beautiful, too- flowers covered the outside, and the water shined like something not of this world. Would this really be her home by next week? It had clearly not been a lie when she'd heard that the Herondale Family was beyond wealthy. No wonder they didn't even need to marry other nobles- they had enough money to support anything, if you could tell just by the house.

"Yes, I said that, Clary." Jace said, his eyes wide in concern. "You nearly drowned tonight. We should get you inside, alright?" Clary nodded, still staring at the crest.

He led her gently into his home, gently up a staircase covered in velvet and a living room with a diamond chandelier hanging from the top along with a gorgeous piano in the side of the room. There were paintings of the generations of Herondales all over the wall, and Clary couldn't help but wonder if maybe she would have a child who's painting would be up there one day. She was still dazed, not thinking right. She could both think about her future and not think about it, her thoughts still full of Sebastian but also full of curiosity as she was unintentionally given a tour of her future home. "I meant to give a tour after the wedding," She heard Jace mutter.

He led her inside a large room, where she could see a large easel and canvas placed in the center of it, along with various buckets of paints in every sort of shade. There was a window placed directly above it, and the moonlight shone in through it. In another corner was a bed with light green blankets which seemed to be made of velvet, along with soft pink pillows. There was a lacy green nightgown strewn across it. Beside the bed was a dresser, and Clary could only imagine the clothing there. There were candlesticks which hadn't been lightened, and a vase full of violets. The carpet was white, and just as Clary was started to take everything else in, she realized that the walls were just _canvas. _She let out a gasp, wondering what exactly this room was as Jace set her down on the bed. It was unimaginably soft and silky. Clary felt her eyes flutter.

"What are you doing here?" Jace repeated his question gently. He paused, seeing her expression and following her curious gaze around the room. He blushed, glancing at the canvas and the paints. "Oh… um… this is yours."

"What is?" Clary asked softly in a daze, thinking of what she could do with the room.

"This room," Jace said, as if he was nervous to speak. "I had it designed for you when you told me about your passion, and I… um… I thought that maybe…

"Thank you," Clary said in surprise. Had he really made a whole room for her? But that wasn't why she felt so touched. It was because he'd thought of her hobby, her dreams, and of what she herself would want. "And I… I was running away."

Jace looked at her curiously. "You needn't say if you don't want to. You can sleep for now."

"You mean I can stay?" Clary couldn't yet understand that this room was indeed hers, let alone that this house would one day be hers, and the fact that she had literally stumbled upon it.

Jace nodded, moving to blow out the candle he had lit, moving out to leave her alone and in silence.

She felt happy, yet she couldn't shake the earlier sadness, which combined left her in a state of nothingness. She prayed for one night of blissful rest.

So much for a day of happiness and Sebastian understanding.

She looked around the room that was crafted for her and tried to think of what she would paint on the walls and let sleep wash over her.

**How was that? Depressing again, I know. I love this chapter, though. Don't worry about the Clary/Jace, it's not a Clace fic. The main ship is Clabastian, however Clace will be prominent and there will be Jace/Clary/Sebastian.**

**Anyways, happy early holidays! I'll see you next week.**

**~S**

**Review, Favorite, Follow!**


	7. 7- Changes Everything

**Wooo. I don't know when this fic is ending, but I'm feeling an ending coming…. in…. it honestly depends on what you guys think about the fic, because I could it end it right away or in 10 chapters. :)**

**I'm glad that you guys liked the last chapter as well. It keeps me motivated. Also, I changed my username(again) to FicsOnFridays6; if you haven't noticed- I like changing my username.**

**I hope you enjoy!**

**~S**

***I don't own TMI, and the rest of the warnings are in the summary***

Clary felt an intense light shine on her and blinked, looking around in confusion. This wasn't where she normally woke up. The memories of the previous night flooded through her mind, and with a jolt she sat up, sadness weighing over her. She closed her eyes and listened to her surroundings instead of focusing on the negative. She could hear nothing but birds chirping outside, a euphoric feeling washing over her as she slowly got out of bed, the velvet blankets and pink pillows strewn across the floor. She gently placed them back, still looking wondrously at everything in the room. Was this all really hers? The canvas, the paints, the bed… Jace didn't seem to be up yet- the whole house was silent. Her feet moved across the carpet and to the closet in the corner of the room. It was white with gold flowers etched onto it in paint, an absolutely lovely sight. Clary's hand moved to open it, made a delighted noise that she couldn't help but let out from her mouth.

The inside was full of clothing, and there was no mistaking that they were all in her size. There were many different colors, all that would probably suit her skin tone, and an array of shoes laid out on the ground. All she'd wanted was to find the clothes she'd worn the night previously, and yet what she'd managed to find was a closet completely made for _her. _Was this the sort of life a noble lived? Her hands moved to touch the soft material of everything- lace, velvet, satin… all materials she wouldn't have thought of owning before. She grasped onto a deep blue dress with long sleeves that would keep her warm.

She took it, remembering Jace's words to her that this room was completely hers. She slipped it on, realizing as she took off her nightgown that her corset was still on- meaning that Jace hadn't done anything. She felt a heat rise up to her cheeks. The velvet clung onto her skin perfectly, the bits of gold at the waistline only making it look better. She looked into a mirror to her left and realized in shock that she _did_ really look like one of _them. _Her hand moved to the ring on her left hand and grazed it lightly.

She looked around the room, wondering what she should do with the sun barely rising and Jace not awake. She eyed the paints and the canvas and couldn't stop herself from moving to where the paints were set onto the ground. She picked up a brush and dipped it into one of the buckets, her hand moving back and forth through the canvas, a clear image in her mind.

_Gold. Black. Red. _Different colors swirled onto the painting and came to life as time passed. The sun was visible now, the window above where she was standing shining sun directly onto the painting. She looked up and with a jolt, realized what she'd been painting. It was Jace, but with Sebastian's eyes. Jace but not Jace. Sebastian but not Sebastian. She dropped the brush and cleaned up the splattered paint on the ground, looking at the artwork in surprise.

"I don't think you got my eyes right." A voice echoed from behind her.

Clary looked back in surprise, eyes lighting up. "Jace."

"I see you've been busy," Jace said, a bit of humor creeping into his voice. "But there's breakfast downstairs, and I am afraid that I thought you were sleeping. But- the painting is beautiful."

Clary felt the need to hide, but instead followed him through the humongous house and down the velvet staircase, passing the chandelier and golden piano once again. The smell of bread was evident as she neared the dining room. She let out a gasp- it seemed like all she was doing was gasping. It wasn't a dining room- it was practically a _hall. _It had not been a lie when her father said Jace was the richest nobleman in the land, considering the fact that he was an orphan with no relatives but with a big estate and every bit of money his parents has left him. Clary knew not of what he did for money, but knew that he clearly had enough. The hall.

The ceiling was made up of a mural, and there was a chandelier hanging down. The table in the center of the room was made of a beautiful wood, and at least a dozen chairs were lined up around it. On the table was a basket of rolls, and another basket of fruits. Clary didn't normally have much to eat besides the leftover dough in the bakery- she couldn't simply eat what she made, as that would result in less money made. Her father was likely opening the shop now, and Jace had reassured her that he'd sent a message to her residence. She sat down in one of the chairs where there was a plate set- looking around curiously. "Where are all of the maids?" She heard herself ask, because she really was curious.

"I don't hire very many, I don't believe in hiring more than I need like the Starkweathers." Jace replied simply, "But Katie did make the rolls." He tilted his chin to the side where a woman in her fifties was cleaning in the kitchen, barely visible. "She'll be off soon- she lives in a cottage in the corner of the estate."

Clary felt something fill her up when she heard Jace's words. She'd heard of nobles that abused their maids and workers, but Jace didn't seem to. He gave them time off, and treated them with what seemed to be kindness- he even seemed fond of some of them.

Jace seemed to notice the look she gave him. "She's lived here since I was a boy." He sat down beside her. Clary carefully took a roll and bit into it, the taste of butter and chocolate making her taste buds scream with joy, savoring the taste.

Jace glanced at her after a while. "Your father has arranged something." He said quietly, as if waiting for her to reply in anger or disgust.

"What is it?" Clary asked. She wasn't in the mood to be angry or afraid- it wasn't as if she was going to escape the betrothal, and Sebastian had ended things with her. If anything, she should be grateful that she ended up with Jace and not some possessive old man. She should also be glad for the treatment she was getting- not every woman was treated as an equal.

"He's asked me to get a tailor to design our clothing for next week- the wedding is in five days, and he's already contacted the church and they've posted a message to the general public." Jace said quickly. "I understand if you don't want-

"It's all right." Clary replied, not knowing what else to say. She couldn't say no, could she? That wouldn't result in anything. Sebastian had given up on her, and her mother was counting on her getting married to Jace. "I'm completely fine with it."

"Thank god." Jace let out a deep breath, "Because he's coming in just a bit."

"A Christmas wedding, huh?" Clary muttered.

"Yes, Christmas." Jace offered her a grin.

Clary hadn't thought that a tailor working on fitting her gown wouldn't be difficult- not until he started pulling on the laces in the back as tightly as he could, continuing to tighten it even after she let out a protest in a squeaky voice. She wondered how Jace was fairing, and whether he was being subjected to the same discomfort. She looked at herself in the mirror and opened her mouth, shock rolling over her. She'd been afraid to look before, but now that she saw, she didn't want to look away.

To be honest, it seemed like all she was doing at the Herondale Mansion was gasping and marveling over clothing. But this- this was what she pictured a princess would wear to her fairy tale wedding. It was white, complimenting her fair skin and hair. It had a wide neckline, and the tailor placed a necklace right over her bare skin. The sleeves flowed down and felt light as air, although the rest of the dress was heavier than she thought it would be. The laces of the dress went forward and backward in a shade of gold; there were flowers placed on different places on her dress- the flowers seemed to be made of gold, but looked as delicate as a real flower. How this could be possible was new to Clary, but she lifted her fingers from the ground slightly to touch them.

"Don't you move," The tailor spoke, "You'll rip the dress. Don't move until I'm done." The waistline tightened again and Clary was frightened that it might rip. The flowers were in her hair as well, Clary realized. She couldn't help but think of what Sebastian might have thought if he'd seen her in the dress.

After a long day of trying on the dress and having it tightened around her waist to the point where it was painful, she was done and back in the blue dress in much less tight of a corset.

There was a knock on the door and the tailor opened it. Clary, who was frightened by the tailor, backed away slightly. The door opened slightly, and Jace's head poked through. "She's not in the dress, is she?" His eyes were closed.

"No." She and the tailor spoke in unison.

"I must go now." Said the tailor quietly, leaving the two of them alone.

"Clary," Jace spoke, "Is this really alright with you?" He sounded hesitant, as if he was going to say something.

"Yes." Clary shut her eyes, trying not to think about the drawing she'd made in the morning- the drawing that was Jace but not Jace, Sebastian but not Sebastian. She opened them quickly.

"Then can I do something?" He asked, and Clary nodded, no noise managing to come out of her mouth. His hands moved to her cheek, and Clary felt herself start to lean in, without being able to control herself.

_Sebastian, _she thought, the thought cutting through her like a knife.

"I'm going to kiss you, okay?" Jace's voice was soft and gentle, more than it ever had. Clary could tell that he was being vulnerable, and that these feelings he had were very much real.

His lips moved to touch hers, and it was sweet- sweeter than it had been with Sebastian. It wasn't very intense either- Jace seemed to be kissing her as soft as he could, trying to make sure she didn't feel uncomfortable.

Without warning, she felt herself kissing him back, half enjoying it, half thinking of the other half of her heart.

**Okay, a question. There's this one scene I really want, but I don't know if I should place it before or after the wedding, although it does technically end with the same scenes- it involves Sebastian. So… let's have a vote without spoilers- before or after?**

**Either way, Sebastian comes back next chapter.**

**And yes, I'm updating on Christmas- a Christmas wedding! Look forward to it!**

**Thankssss!**

**~S**


	8. 8-A Christmas Surprise

**Hello and Merry Christmas! Here is the promised chapter and wedding! The majority voted "before" for the question I asked last time, so if you voted "after" I'm sorry :(**

**But I'm so happy that it's the holidays. Without further ado, here's the chapter- although it's unedited.**

**~S**

She kissed him back, her lips pressed against his as she tried to forget everything, but slowly felt the illusion of it all slip away from her grasp.

Clary's breath caught and she stumbled backwards, feeling numb to the world. She could barely put two and two together, much less think about what she was doing. She looked at Jace and flinched, afraid of what he would think of her, especially since she'd been the one to pull away. Shouldn't she have been afraid this whole time? Jace was the richest man in the town- he had the power to do things to her that many others did not.

She covered her mouth with her hands and turned away, not wanting to see the look on his face once he registered everything that had just happened. They'd kissed, hadn't they?

Clary told him that she wanted him to kiss her, and yet she was the one pulling away, she was the one who flinched away from him as if she was repulsed by every action they were making. She blinked back tears that were starting to rise up in her eyes and felt her knees start to give out. She couldn't look at Jace, could she? Whether it would be hurt and pain or anger and utter fury, it wouldn't be pleasant. All that rang through her mind was _Sebastian, Sebastian, Sebastian. _

She had enjoyed the kiss, hadn't she? So why did she pull away? Sebastian was done with her, wasn't he? Clary heard Jace walk out of the room, leaving her alone in a room that was specially built for her. Would he take this away from her? Would she be left to become some sort of trophy wife? She curled herself up into a ball and wrapped her arms around her knees, unable to really move as tears ran down her face.

-(Break)

Jace had been more distant with her than usual, although she did live in the mansion for the time being. He was frequently gone, and although it was the eve of their wedding day, Clary thought that maybe he was involved with somebody else.

_You must bare it for your mother, _Clary told herself firmly. Jace came home in the middle of the night, breathless and happy. He did make conversation with her, but it was nothing like the conversations they had before the kiss. She didn't know what was going on between them.

Her wedding dress hung in a corner of her room, ready to be worn the next day. Clary stared at the painting that was still on the easel in the middle of the room- the one that was both Sebastian and Jace, and the painting that revealed some of her most hidden desires.

Clary could still remember the heat of the kiss, Jace holding her gently as if she were glass that he could break. But Clary knew that she would not easily shatter. She held herself firm and told herself that she would make it to the end of the wedding, and that her mother would make it until they could get a proper doctor. Clary had yet to fully explain her mother's situation to Jace, not with everything else going on- he did not know the severity and didn't ask.

Moonlight shone through the window on the ceiling. Clary tried to close her eyes and picture what life would be like for her tomorrow. Would she be covered in jewels and live a life like a noble? She couldn't picture it. Would she be seeing Emma and Julian tomorrow? She hoped so. The moonlight hit the painting of the boy, and illuminated it to the point where she could not ignore it.

She could not sleep. Clary got up from the comfort of her bed, hoping that a glass of water could possibly give her the relief necessary to wake her up. Still in her silk nightgown, she opened the door to her room and began to move quietly and almost made it to the stairs- _almost. _

She had to stop when she heard the noises. She moved closer and realized that it was coming from Jace's room- the door was ajar. Two voices were whispering, and Clary couldn't help but want to open the door and see exactly what was going on behind it. Her hands moved to turn the door knob and thrust it open, her eyes widening when she saw what was going on.

All of a sudden, Clary was aware of everything that was going on- every atom in her body reacted when she saw the two men get up out of bed, wearing nothing but nightwear, arms reaching out for her. Her lips parted and she let out a gasp, questioning everything in front of her. What was happening? What was she _thinking? _What did she _want? _Her mind flashed back to her painting and she realized- she realized that _this _was what she wanted.

She wanted them both. Both of them at once.

Was that what they were offering? Was she not dreaming? "How? Why?" Her voice was loud and clear in the silence of the night. Her scarlet hair shone in the moonlight and there was a slip to her nightgown that showed off some skin.

"Clary, I'll explain later." Sebastian was the one who spoke first. He looked beautiful. His black eyes, dark like obsidian, matched the color of the sky through the window, and his hair shone like the moonlight.

"Clary," Jace was all gold, hair and eyes and skin, practically glowing right besides him. His eyes were wide with desire, arms held out just for her. "Clary, isn't this what you wanted?"

And it was what she wanted. Clary's eyes widened and she stepped closer, feeling as their arms traveled up and down her skin and her lips met lips until she didn't know who she was feeling but the utter euphoria of it all was enough to make it feel like it should last forever. She saw Jace's lips brush against Sebastian's and felt more desire than she'd ever felt in her life. The night was still young, and the heat and warmth that they were sharing made it feel as if it were immortal; everlasting.

Sebastian's hands were in her hair, Jace's hands on her back, her hands in his hair- she looked at Sebastian and saw him smile. She wouldn't ask for an explanation, not now. She didn't want one. She wanted to be happy and without worries for once. She wanted to forget her mother, forget marriage, forget _everything_.

For the first time in a long time, Clary believed that she could really have everything she wanted. There was heat everywhere as the night carried on, voices ringing out into the darkness- everlasting.

If only it could have really lasted forever.

-(Break)

Clary could feel breath against her neck, and her eyes widened, remembering the night before. Had they really? She wasn't in her own room. Clary looked around, her naked body pressed against the silk blankets.

All sorts of questions poured through her. How had Jace known about Sebastian? How had he been allowed into the mansion? How has they been alright with this?

"_Clary, isn't this what you wanted?" _Jace's voice echoed deep in the back of her mind. Clary shivered thinking about what had happened the night before. She looked up and saw Jace, who looked more pleased than he had for the past week. If it was Jace who was breathing into her neck, then where had Sebastian gone?

"Clary?" Jace seemed to be alert, his golden eyes looking straight into hers.

"What did we do last night? Was it- was it real? Where's Sebastian?"

And to her shock, he seemed to register what she was saying. "I've known since Emma, Clary. I passed your house and saw you going to see Sebastian, and when I saw the painting, I-I assumed."

Last night had been a whole different Jace. Jace wasn't like that, was he? He was never so full of desire that he couldn't control himself, that he would… touch her and make her call out his name. Clary shivered slightly at the thought. Last night, Jace had been so out of character that she didn't know what had happened.

"Was it all right?" Jace asked, the care back in his voice. "Was it what you wanted?"

Clary felt herself smile for the first time in a while. Did this mean that Sebastian and her could be together? Did that mean she could also be with Jace? Did that mean her mother would be alright? She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "Everything and more."

Jace looked around and his eyes widened. "It's in three hours, Clary."

"What is?" She asked, alarmed.

"The wedding." Jace said, panicked. "You have to get ready. I have to get the carriage. My god-"

-(Break)

The inside of the church was beautiful. Heavenly. Clary took in a deep breath, her arm wrapped around her father's. Her hair had been done in a sort of swirl around her head, and there were golden flowers that matched Jace's eyes strewn across her hair. The dress trailed all around her, and Clary closed her eyes, her heart thumping in her chest. She didn't have to worry about Sebastian anymore, did she? Not after everything.

It was Christmas Day, after children had opened up their gifts with joy and bells rang across town. Now they were ringing for a different reason. They were ringing for a bride with a secret. The doors opened, and Clary heard herself suck in a breath.

She walked down the isle, where _Emma_ had thrown flowers across the floor. Clary let out a gasp of delight and looked ahead. Jace's eyes widened at the sight of her, his cheeks darkening a bit. Clary looked to the side and saw Sebastian, who was sitting in one of the seats nearby. She smiled at him, and he smiled back to her delight.

Everything was going perfectly, wasn't it? Clary moved away from her father and took her place beside Jace, smiling and nodding and saying her vows, saying _yes _to every question.

"I do," Her voice came out, firm and clear, before she even knew what she was saying. _I do I do I do I do. _

Before she knew it, Jace's lips were on hers and that was it, they were married, and there were rings on their fingers in the shapes of herons and they were _happy._

"Stop this!" A voice rang out.

Clary felt her heart stop.

**Hahahaha cliffhangers. Sebastian's finally back, and we're gonna get some more Clabastian, don't worry. I kind of rushed on this since I've been sick for the past few days :(**

**But Merry Christmas guys! I hope you've had a great holiday and you'll have a great new year! I'll be back on the 3rd of January due to break and this early update, but I hope you guys have a great holiday and enjoyed this chapter, although it's a bit rushed.**

**Merry Christmas!**

**~S**

**Review, Follow, Favorite!**


	9. 9-Chaos Ensues

**Hi guys, this chapter has taken a while to write and I'm sorry haha. I hope you enjoy.**

**To the person who thought it was like an acid trip last chapter, yeah I know. It was rushed and I was sick but I don't regret what I wrote haha. Thanks for the review :)**

**Enjoy :) And I hope you guys ship Clabasace. **

**~S**

"Stop this!" A voice rang out.

Clary felt her heart stop. What was to stop her from being married now? But no, she and Jace were already married- nobody could stop this, could they? But after all of her worrying and anxiety over what was to come of the wedding and solving that, she wasn't supposed to feel like this. Nothing was supposed to stop them from being married. She clenched her fists and turned away from Jace, her hand pulling away from him, the heron symbol on her ring finger glinting in the light. _No_, her heart screamed.

"This marriage cannot be allowed! Clarissa Fairchild has been seeing another! And-"

It was a tall man, one that she'd never seen before. How did he know? How would he know? Clary could feel wind blowing in her face, her hair coming undone and her skirt flowing everywhere- the window was open. She looked at Jace, panicked and afraid.

"You can not prove anything," Jace stated firmly. His lips were set in a hard line, and she could tell that he definitely hadn't expected this to happen. "Neither of us know you."

"Clarissa Fairchild!" The man's voice rose higher, his face red. "Your mother sent me! She knows secrets that you do not!"

Clary didn't know how he possibly knew. Maybe he didn't know. Maybe he'd made things up and they'd just happened to be true. Had her mother really sent him? No… she had to be on the brink of death by now. Maybe… she closed her eyes and opened them again, her hands shaking as she unclenched her fists and tried to smile at him. "You must be mistaken, sir. I love Jonathan Herondale, I love him." That… was true.

Jace glared at the man, looking to the side, his eyes catching a different man's. "I'm warning you, good sir. Please stop making up rumors for your benefit. I'm a good man, but I'm afraid that if you continue to disrupt the ceremony and reception, I will have men escort you out. I have many connections, and in case you are not aware, I have the money and power to hurt you very much."

Clary looked at him in a bit of disbelief. She'd never heard him speak of his money in that sense, or use it as a threat. He'd never spoken about the amount of power he had over people . That was the moment that she knew he was being absolutely serious. She didn't know how this could happen. Jace held her other hand firmly, steadying her. She found Sebastian in the crowd, looking anxious but keeping his head down, not wanting to look suspicious. "Please leave, sir." She said firmly and with as much force as she could.

"I will not. The people deserve to know what the richest lord in the land is marrying." The man said, his face even redder. "He is marrying a whore for her looks, nothing more."

The crowd gasped, and Clary felt her face redden. Everyone was looking at her. Emma was looking at her, too- in a different way than she used to, and that hurt more than she thought it would. She visibly flinched, wanting to hide from everybody. _It isn't true,_ She told herself, _It isn't true. _

"Get out!" Jace thundered, "Clarissa is not a whore, and I will get you banished from town for this!"

"I know who the man is! He's Sebastian Morgenstern! But he isn't a Morgenstern, not really! Well, you're not a _Herondale, Jonathan. _Your parents were, but you weren't really raised by Stephen!" The man screamed as men took hold of his arms and attempted to drag him out. He pulled out a knife and stabbed them, men scattered and falling around him, blood on the floor of the church. _Forsaken._

"Daddy!" Julian Blackthorn's voice rang out, louder than everything else.

Now, Clary was the cause of somebody's death. "Stop this!" Clary screamed, tears falling down her face, an overwhelming fear filling her up. "Stop this now! Stop the killing! Stop it!"

"THEN LET ME SPEAK!" The man bellowed, spitting blood onto the ground. Jace seemed speechless and stumbled backwards a bit.

"Speak, but do _not _kill any more people." Clary was shocked at the harshness of her own voice. Her hair was down, trailing around like a fiery inferno.

Jace thought she looked like a goddess. So did Sebastian.

The whole crowd turned to listen as the man snarled. "Your mother told me about your relationship with the _Blacksmith, _and it's disgusting! You know what Jonathan and Sebastian are? They're _brothers, _if you think about it. Sebastian's father disappeared to raise Jonathan under a false name, the poor boy whose parents died because Sebastian's father _killed them. _Although Jonathan is a Herondale by blood, he was not raised by either parent."

Jace looked pale. "Stop this. This isn't true-

"Clarissa, did you know how your father remarried? Although you're not related by blood, Sebastian's mother was once married to your father. She's still his mistress. " The man smirked.

"How do you know all of this?" Clary demanded, furious. "You can not just dig up other people's secrets and announce them in front of everybody!"

"So it _is_ true," The man smiled. "You _are a whore._ An incestuous whore."

"Leave me alone!" Clary screamed, "I am not a whore!"

"So you are all connected! All of you!" The man said, "but that's not the point. The point is that you are a cheating whore."

Clary looked to Sebastian, then Jace. What would Jace say? Would he want to get rid of her? And why would her mother tell somebody to say this all? Why would she hire someone? "Why would my mother hire you when I just want her healthy and happy?!"

"She's _dead. _She called me to give me her dying wish. If she would not get a doctor, then it'd be better to reveal the truth to _everybody._" The man walked up to her and spat in her face and then looked at the crowd. "Clarissa Fairchild is a whore."

Tears were running faster down her face, and things were starting to get blurry. How could her mother betray her like this? The shock of grief and betrayal hit her at the same time. The woman who'd raised her was dead, and her last wish was to hurt her reputation and chances of ever achieving her dreams. It hurt more than words could explain. Was her mother really gone? The woman who taught her how to bake, how to sew, taught her everything she knew? She shook her head and looked at the crowd, no longer smiling, no longer looking at her in the way that they had been when she was a smiling, blushing bride.

All eyes were on her.

She ran, tears falling as she tripped over the crumpled bodies, her shoes slipping off when she tried to reach the door. She blinked over and over, trying to stop the tears. Her beautiful wedding dress had gotten stuck to one of the chairs, tearing the silk and lace and revealing the line of her corset. The tears wouldn't stop. The wedding that was supposed to be perfect was anything but perfect. Hands grabbed her on both her right and left, dragging her out of the church and bringing her to her feet. Clary kept her gaze on the ground, not wanting to look at the two people who had gotten her out and into the woods.

"Clary," A familiar voice said softly, "Clary, it'll be alright, I promise."

She looked up and saw Sebastian's face, and felt even more tears begin to fall down her face. "Sebastian," She said quietly, "I'm so sorry, there'll be even less business for you now…"

"Clary, why would I worry about that when the worst possible thing that could happen to you just happened?" Sebastian remarked in disbelief.

Clary whirled to her left and saw Jace, paler than ever. It seemed that he knew nothing about the news that the man had shared. "Clary, we're married. I promise to protect under all circumstances. Just because the man said those things doesn't mean that we aren't married. I promise to help Sebastian as well."

"My mother…" Clary looked down at her bare legs, bleeding all over the white snow on the ground, no shoes, no nothing. Christmas was ruined. Her corset was visible, and the only part of her gown that remained was the top half and a bit of the bottom, making it look like she was wearing a short skirt. "I'm so sorry."

"Stop apologizing." Jace said, gesturing towards a lake, and Clary finally realized that they were nearing the Herondale manor. "Your mother should never have hired the man. I'm sorry that I got you wrapped into my past."

"And mine," Sebastian added.

Clary looked at her hands, bloody. She could still hear Julian's screams echoing in her ears, crying out to his dead father. Who would care for his siblings?

Was this the price of getting what she wanted?

**Another chapter… that I wrote in an hour, oops. I need to work on spacing it out, but I hope you enjoyed it. How was your holidays?**

**~S**


	10. 10-Grand Scheme

**Hey guys, sorry for not updating. I've been quite busy with other real life issues, but I promise that I haven't forgotten about this. I've lost some friendships over the past month and updating every week was getting really tough for me, so I hope you guys understand.**

**Anyways, I'm back now, and I hope you enjoy :)**

**~S**

"We'll run away. We'll leave." Clary said, speaking quietly, looking down at her hands. Snow was starting to fall from the sky, making her shiver. "I can't stay."

Sebastian grimaced. "Do you think we can run away like this?"

"We have Jace's money and assets, we can run-

"Won't they catch us? Where would we possibly run off to?" Sebastian said lightly, trying not to make her worry but at the same time worrying himself. "Paris? London? Rome?"

"That man was paid to disrupt my wedding, not track is to the ends of the Earth." Clary replied, looking down at her bloodied knees. Jace was still silent. "My mother is dead. My mother is dead, and she wished to ruin what was going to be the best day of my life." The betrayal and anguish she felt made her heart feel as if it was being stabbed repeatedly.

Jace seemed to be in deep thought, looking off at the lake behind his manor. He was thinking of the day Clary had come crashing down into the lake- the day he'd truly fallen for her, and the day his life had been forever forsaken. "We can go. We'll go."

But as she thought more in depth about running away, the more she realized the reasons that she couldn't. Her father. The bakery. What would running away with two men say about her? The fact that she'd thought about abandoning her father was a disgrace. The bakery she'd spent years taking care of and was prepared to take over couldn't just be abandoned now. "I…"

"It's your choice, Clary." Jace said, "You give the word and I'll sell the manor- we can take a ship, or a carriage, whatever you like- we can leave."

If she were to run away, she could build a new life, a new name, a new career, a new reputation. But none of it would be home. If she stayed, she would face endless discrimination, and so would Jace and Sebastian. She couldn't help but want to stay, even if it was only an ounce of her soul that longed to.

"Clary, you can paint, if you wish. You can bake, you can paint, you can do whatever you want." Jace seemed to be in on her original idea, but Sebastian was now silent. "We can buy a house, we can do whatever we want there. We can go to the country, we can…" At the mention of painting, Clary perked up slightly.

Sebastian looked a bit shocked and a little bit angry. "And what do I have? Do you think I can keep doing what I do when we move? Do you think I'll have my father's shop?"

"Sebastian, this is a chance to start new. We can work together, maybe start a business-

"It's because you're a noble that you don't understand how hard it would be to start over." Sebastian said scornfully. "How did I think any of this- how did I think _**we**_ would work out of all people?"

Clary was dumbfounded at the outburst. "Sebastian-

"Why did I have to fall in love with you?" Sebastian said, his voice breaking a little. "Why you?"

"We can start a life in another place. Do you think you'll get remotely as much business as you used to after what happened yesterday?" Clary said, "I don't want to leave either, it would be my last choice. But this… what happened today… I can't stay." Her vision was clouded by tears. _Whore! _The words echoed in her mind, thinking of the gasps and laughter at her wedding.

"Give me some time to think." Sebastian said, "If I say no but you want to go, then I won't follow you." Clary looked at him completely dumbfounded. She looked away, trying not to show the hurt on her face.

"Let's just drop the topic," Jace tried for a smile but evidently failed. "Let's just get inside and clean you up." Clary tried to ignore the physical and emotional pain she felt when the two boys helped her inside and gently set her down on the velvet couch in Jace's living room.

Under the golden chandelier, Clary felt quite terrified, although she couldn't tell Jace. It seemed like it could fall at any moment. She winced when Jace tightened a bandage around her knee after Sebastian cleaned the wound gently with a sponge. "You sure you're alright?"

"Yes." _No._ Clary had absolutely no idea how she was going to get through this. It was as if every single thought she had was contradicting itself. She wanted to leave, and yet she didn't. She was glad to be married, and yet she wasn't. She… "I have to see my father." She declared all of a sudden, almost frantically. She probably seemed out of her mind.

Sebastian looked at her, no trace of the harshness from the previous conversation on his face. There was nothing but worry and love. "Are you sure you're ready to walk through town after what just happened in the church?" His tone was light and gentle.

The town they lived in was small, and although the lords and ladies of the town were rich and important to other towns and cities nearby, the other people didn't matter much in the grand scheme of things. However, one thing was for sure- because the town was so small, rumors, among other things… would spread like wildfire. News of what they'd been doing all of this time would spread, and soon they would be shunned by everyone who didn't want to be associated with somebody like Clary. Did she really want to wrap her father into this as well, or just keep him away from the situation? But what was to say her father hadn't known? Her blood ran cold and her heart seemed to stop beating as she thought of the idea. What money had her mother paid the man with? Of course it was Valentine's money, which meant he must've known about the transaction or have been utterly oblivious, which didn't sound likely. Her mother wasn't all that smart either, so did it mean that everything that had just happened was some sort of grand scheme done by her father? Chills ran down her spine.

Clary turned to face both of the boys directly, her heart pounding in her chest as she spoke softly, "I think my father… is…." She felt like she couldn't breathe.

While Jace started at her blankly, Sebastian's eyes widened in shock and recognition. "Oh my god." He said, sitting up taller.

"What? What is it?" Jace looked alarmed when he scanned both of their faces. "Why don't I understand?"

"Jace, how would my mother have access to the household money if my father's in charge of it all?" Clary asked him and watched carefully until his eyes widened too.

"That bastard…" Jace mumbled, "So this could've been a scheme by both of your parents? Or maybe just your father?"

Clary's face was white and she couldn't stop herself from letting out a few tears and folding in on herself as if she could protect her emotions from being hurt any further. "My father…"

"I'll kill him." Sebastian said, his obsidian eyes looking darker as he said it.

Jace looked at him as if he were absurd. "Are you looking to be arrested? We need to speak to him. Now, before he can run off."

**Thanks for reading this short chapter!**

**~S**

**Follow, favorite, review!**


End file.
